Outrigger

ABSTRACT

An outrigger comprising telescopic members, the outer telescopic member being pivotally connected adjacent one side of the vehicle which it is to stabilize and extending beneath the vehicle. The other end of the outer member is connected to the vehicle by means of a bracket which is movable longitudinally along the outer member. There is a track on the bracket at an angle with the axis of the outrigger, and a guide and support member is located on the vehicle and coacts with the track.

United States Patent 1 1 3,743,108 Visser 1 July 3, 1973 [54] OUTRIGGER3,073,458 1/1963 Wieschel 212/145 1 9 6 P l 14 [75] Inventor: Peter J.Vlsser, Niles, Mich. 3 279 622 0/1 6 erson 2 2, 5 [73] Assignee: ClarkEquipment Company, Primary Examiner-Robert .l. Spar Buchanan, Mich.Attorney-Kenneth C. Witt et a1. [22] Filed: Jan. 31, 1972 Appl. No.:221,967

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OUTRIGGER CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The outriggerconstruction of the present invention may be employed advantageouslywith the load transfer mechanism of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No.187,362, filed Oct. 7, l97l, which is assigned to the same assignee asthe present application. However, it will be appreciated that it is notlimited to such use, but may be applied also to other load transfer andload handling mechanisms and vehicles which require stabilization.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to outrigger mechanisms utilized to stabilize load handling andload transfer mechanisms and the like and makes it possible for suchmechanisms to have a greater reach without instability or overturning.The use of outriggers as stabilizers in effect extends the base of thevehicle or other mechanism and thus makes it possible to shift thecenter of gravity a greater distance laterally without getting it beyondthe point which might result in overturning.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various stabilizer mechanisms have beenused heretofore to stabilize vehicles and other mechanisms, andattention is called to the outrigger mechanism of U. S. Pat. No.3,073,458 dated Jan. 15, 1963. The present outrigger mechanism issimilar in some respects to the outrigger mechanism of that patent,however, it provides intrinsic advantages over that patented structureand still other advantages when used as a part of a load transfermechanism of the type disclosed in the aforementioned U. S. applicationSer. No. 187,362.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In carrying out my invention in one mode, Iprovide an outrigger mechanism having a pair of telescopic members, theouter one of which is pivotally connected at one end adjacent one sideof a vehicle, with the outrigger extending beneath the vehicle. Theother end of the outer telescopic member is connected adjacent the otherside of the vehicle to raise and lower such other end and thereby adjustthe height of the end of the outrigger when it is extended. Suchconnection of the outer member adjacent the other side of the vehicleincludes a bracket movable longitudinally along the outer member, atrack on the bracket at an angle with the longitudinal axis of theoutrigger, and a guide and support member located on the vehicle andcoacting with the track.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows a schematic sideelevational view of a load transfer mechanism with which the outriggermechanism of the present invention may be utilized advantageously,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic end view of the load transfer mechanism of FIG.1 with outriggers in their extended positions,

FIG. 3 shows diagrammatically one of the outriggers in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows the outrigger of FIG. 3 in an extended position,

FIG. 5 shows the outrigger of FIG. 3 in an extended and loweredposition,

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view along the line 66 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 6A shows an enlarged fragmentary view in section at the locationindicated at 6A on FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a top plan view, along the line 7-7 in FIG. 2 with someparts omitted in order to simplify the view, illustrating fouroutriggers embodied in the load transfer mechanism of FIG. 1,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8--8 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an end view from the left of FIG. 7 with all individualoutriggers retracted,

FIG. 10 is an end view from the right of FIG. 7 with all individualoutriggers retracted,

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view along the line 1l-1I of FIG. 8illustrating particularly a part of the structural portion of themechanism, omitting many of the functional parts for this purpose,

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view showing the same part of thestructure as FIG. 11, and likewise omitting many of the functional partsin order to show the basic supporting structure, and

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary e'nd elevational view showing a part of thestructure of FIG. 11, and showing particularly the manner in which thestub shafts 44 are secured rigidly to the remainder of the structural orbox portion which houses the outriggers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I of the drawing shows aload transfer mechanism 10 the same as the aforementioned U. S.application Ser. No. 187,362 except for the incorporation of outriggersin accordance with the present invention in the load transfer mechanism.There are four individual outriggers at the rear portion of the loadtransfer mechanism housed within a transverse box portion 58, and theseare indicated respectively by the numerals l2, 14, 16, and 18. See FIG.7. At the front portion there are four similar outriggers. Alloutriggersare shown retracted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic end elevational view of the load transfermechanism of FIG. I, looking from the left, with the outriggers in theextended condition.

FIG. 3 shows schematically individual outrigger 14 in its raised andcontracted position, being the second outrigger from the rear (orbottom) as seen in FIG. 7. The other individual outriggers .areessentially the same. The outrigger 14 is a telescopic mechanism whichincludes an outer hollow elongated member 20 which is pivotallyconnected by means of a boss 22 to the same shaft or cylindrical journalmember 27 which connects and supports the main actuators 26a and 26b andauxiliary actuator 30 of the load transfer mechanism. See FIG. 9 whichshows that there are actually two bosses 22 for each outrigger in theconstruction shown.

As explained in the said U. S. Pat. application, the load transfermechanism 10 comprises load manipulating main actuators 24a, 24b, 26a,26b and auxiliary actuators 28 and 30 at the rear portion thereof.Actuators 26a, 26b and 30 are mounted on and pivotally connected to alongitudinally extending journal member 27 in a manner which isdescribed in detail hereinafter. Similarly, main actuators 24a and 24band auxiliary actuator 28 are pivotally connected to a longitudinallyextending journal member 25.

The extendible portion of outrigger 14 is an inner member 32 which isextended and retracted by remote control by means of a conventionallinear hydraulic actuator 36. The actuator 36 and the individualoutrigger 14 are shown in the extended position in FIG. 4.

To raise and lower the outer end of the outrigger 14 there is provided aflange member 34 which is arranged to move longitudinally of theoutrigger on the outer member 20, such longitudinal movement, extensionand retraction, being accomplished by means of a hydraulic actuator 38.Actuator 38 is shown in the retracted condition in FIG. 4 and in theextended condition in FIG. 5. Bracket 34 is provided with an elongatedslot 40 which forms a track for a slide member 42 which is pivotallymounted on a stub shaft 44 which is located immediately below mainjournal member 25 and rigidly secured thereto by structure which isdisclosed hereinafter.

It will be appreciated that as actuator 38 is extended, the action oftrack 40 on slide member 42 produces a wedging or cam action which movesthe outer extremity 33 of the inner member 32 of the outriggerdownwardly. Moreover, when the load transfer mechanism is'in operationand a load is transmitted through the journal member 25 and shaft 44 andthrough slide 42 and bracket 34 to the outrigger structure 20, 32 thatmost of the load is transmitted directly from the bracket 34 throughouter member to the inner member 32 of the outrigger and thence throughthe foot plate 35 to the ground or other support surface, with only aminor portion of the load being transmitted through the hydraulicactuator 38 to the outer member 20 of the outrigger and thence throughthe inner member 32 to the foot plate 35. In the illustrativeconstruction shown, the ratio is approximately six to four, that is,approximately six tenths of the load is transmitted from the bracket 34directly through member 20 to the inner member 32 of the outrigger whilethe other four tenth s goes through the actuator 38 and the outer member20 of the outrigger to the inner member 32. It will be understood thatthe proportion is dependent upon the angle of the track 40 with respectto the longitudinal axis of the individual actuator, and in theconstruction illustrated this angle is 20. As the angle is increased thepercentage of the load which is transmitted directly becomes smaller andthe load which is transmitted indirectly becomes greater, and viceversa.

FIG. 6 shows more details of the construction of an individualoutrigger, including the inner and outer members 32 and 20,respectively, and the bracket 34. Also shown is a base plate 46 which iswelded or otherwise secured to the bracket 34, and members 48 which aresecured to the sides of the outer member 20 to form a channel withinwhich the base plate 46 slides as the bracket 34 moves inwardly andoutwardly. This arrangement resists lateral movement of the individualoutrigger as it isextended and retracted and also during operation ofthe load transfer mechanism, that is, lateral movement relative to thecross-sectional view of FIG. 6. Such lateral movement would belongitudinal with respect to the load transfer mechanism 10 and it isdesirable, of course, to prevent any such longitudinal movement duringoperation of the load transfer mechanism, and the use of a plurality ofindividual outriggers in the manner illustrated strongly resists anytendency of the load transfer mechanism 10 to move longitudinally duringoperation.

The construction shown in the fragmentary view of FIG. 6A illustratesanother feature of the present outrigger which tends to minimizestresses and strains, and reference is made particularly to the slotwhich is indicated at 37. As shown in FIG. 6, the inner telescopicmember 32 has an upper flat portion 320 and a lower flat portion 32bwhich are secured together as by welding to side members 32c and 32d. Atthe inner extremity of the inner telescopic member 32 as illustrated inFIG. 6A, a slot 37 is provided between side 32c and bottom 32b, and asimilar slot is provided between side 32d and bottom 32b. The effect ofthese slots is to permit the inner end of bottom 32b to flex upwardly asload is applied to the outrigger and in turn distribute the stress whichis produced on the bottom 20b of the outer telescopic member over agreater area.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be observed that the outriggers l4 and 16are extended, to the right as the load handling mechanism is viewed inFIG. 2, while outriggers 12 and 18 remain retracted. Also, it will beobserved that the foot plate 35 which is shown schematically in FIGS. 3,4 and 5 in this case extends between outriggers l4 and 16 so that theyhave a common foot plate. It will be readily understood that thisprovides greater strength and rigidity when a pair of outriggers areused together, but that it is not essential to utilize the single footplate for two outriggers in the broader aspects of the invention.

Similarly, there is a common foot plate 50 extending between theoppositely disposed outriggers 12 and 18 on the left side of the loadtransfer mechanism. 7

FIG. 8 shows a sectional view along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7 andillustrates in greater detail some of the features of an outriggeraccording to the present invention, including showing the foot plate 35resting on a rail in this case, as might be necessary if the loadtransfer mechanism in which the outrigger is used were utilized forunloading containers, trailers or other items off of or onto railroadcars.

Both FIGS. 7 and 8 show the main longitudinal structural portion of theload transfer mechanism which is indicated generally by the numeral 54and comprises I-beam members 56 along with suitable cross membersincluding a top plate welded thereto to form a strong beam-likestructure. Top plate 55 is omitted in FIG. 4 so that the outriggers maybe seen better. Secured to the beam structure 54 is a transverselydisposed boxlike structure 58 of structural plate material to which themain longitudinal journal members 25 and 27 are secured along withauxiliary stub shafts or journal members 44 immediately beneath them.

The left-hand journal members 44 are not visible in FIG. 8, however, itwill be understood that both sides of the structure of the clusteroffour outriggers are similar with each having a longitudinal mainjournal member and two auxiliary journal members. In each case the mainjournal member and the auxiliary journal members are rigidly securedtogether by means of the structural plate portions which hold them, sothat load is transferred directly between the main journal members andauxiliary journal member in each case with a minimum of stress andstrain on the transverse structure 58 and also on the longitudinal beamportion 54.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show views from the left and right, respectively, of thecluster of outriggers and the structure by which they are secured to theload handling mechanism. In the particular load handling mechanism 10which is illustrated in FIG. 1, there are two sets of such Outriggers,one at the rear end and the other at the front, each consisting of atotal of four Outriggers.

As may be seen in FIGS. 9 and 10, the actuators 26b and 26a are bothpivotally journalled on member 27 by means of bifurcated portions whichare designated by the numerals 126a for actuator 26a and 126b foractuator 26b. Auxiliary actuator 30 is pivotally mounted on member 27 bymeans of a journal portion 130. Similarly in FIG. 10, main actuators 24aand 24b are journalled on member 25 by means of bifurcated portions 124aand l24b respectively, while auxiliary actuator 28 is pivotallysupported on member 25 by means of a single journal portion 128. In bothFIGS. 9 and 10, it may be seen also that bifurcated bosses 22 whichcarry the one extreme end of each outrigger are pivotally connected onjournal member 27 or 25 as the case may be.

In order to illustrate the rigid structure which is provided to connectthe various portions of the mechanism together and to provide fortransmittal of loads from.

the load transfer mechanism above to the outriggers below, FIG. 11 hasbeen included. This figureis a fragmentary view showing an illustrativeconstruction of the right end 580 (as seen in FIG. 2) of thetransversely disposed box-like structure 58 which houses the fouroutriggers at the rear of the load transfer mechanism 10. The numerousbraces and other structural members in the portion shown in FIG. 11 arepreferably welded together to form a rigid structure, and shaft orjournal member 25 extends through suitable openings in the braces andother members.

To illustrate the relation between FIGS. 11 and 10, the bifurcatedportions which support the main actuators 24a and 24b in FIG. 10 havebeen shown in phantom and indicated respectively by the numerals 124aand 124b, and the single journal portion for auxiliary actuator 28 hasbeen shown in phantom and indicated by the numeral 128. It will beappreciated that bosses 22 are journalled respectively at the locationsindicated by the numerals 122 in FIG. 11.

Included in the structure of FIG. 11 are plate portions 71 which arewelded into the main structure but also have depending portions asillustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 which are right angle projections fromFIG. 11. Part of the front plate member 73 is broken away in FIG. 13.The downwardly projecting parts of plate members 71 carry stub shafts 44and slide members 42 thereon, which coact with the track slots 40 in thebrackets 34 to provide for raising and lowering the outriggers to getthem into the proper position and also provide for direct transmittal ofa portion of the load from the load transfer mechanism above directly tothe Outriggers through the weldment 58a inasmuch as the stub shafts 44and the journal member 25 form a part of the same rigid structure.

It will be appreciated that there is a similar structure to that shownin FIG. 11 at the opposite end of the transverse box-like structure 58at the rear of the load transfer mechanism, and further that there mayalso be another similar cluster of four outriggers at the front of theload transfer mechanism 10.

While I have described and illustrated herein a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it will be understood that modifications may be made bythose skilled in the art. Accordingly, it should be understood that Iintend to cover by the appended claims all such modifications which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An outrigger comprising an outer hollow elongated member, aconnection adjacent one end of the said outer member for pivotallyconnecting the said outer member to a load handling mechanism in ahorizontally disposed position, an inner member carried by the saidouter member and movable outwardly and inwardly of the outer member, andmeans for raising and lowering the other end of the said outer member,the said means comprising a bracket movable longitudinally along thesaid outer member, a track on the said bracket at an angle with thelongitudinal axis of the said outer member, a guide and load transfermember located on the load handling machine and coacting with the saidtrack, and means for moving the said bracket inwardly and outwardly.

2. An outrigger mechanism as specified in claim 1 in which the elementsspecified therein are duplicated to form another outrigger connected tothe load handling mechanism, but oppositely disposed with respect to thefirst outrigger.

3. An outrigger mechanism as specified in claim 2 in which there are atleast two of the said Outriggers disposed in each direction and parallelrelation and there is a common foot plate carried by each two of theoutriggers respectively.

4. An outrigger as specified in claim 1 in which there is a second trackalong the top of the said outer member and the said bracket has aportion thereon movable along the said track.

5. An outrigger as specified in claim 1 in which the inner end of thesaid inner member has a bottom part which is flexible upwardly in orderto better distribute the stress and strain between the inner member andthe said outer member.

6. In a load handling machine, a horizontally disposed journal member, avertically disposed load manipulating actuator pivotally connected tothe said journal member, a horizontally disposed outrigger comprising anouter hollow elongated member pivotally connected adjacent one endthereof to the said journal member, an inner member carried by the saidouter member and movable outwardly and inwardly of the outer member,means for raising and lowering the other end of the said outer member,the said means comprising a bracket movable longitudinally along thesaid outermember, a track on the said bracket at an angle with thelongitudinal axis of the said outer member, a guide and load transfermember located on the load handling machine and coacting with the saidtrack, and means for moving the said bracket inwardly and outwardly.

7. In a load handling machine, a pair of horizontally disposed journalmembers located respectively adjacent opposite sides of the machine, atleast one vertically disposed load manipulating actuator pivotallyconnected to each of the said journal members, at least one telescopicoutrigger pivotally connected to each of the said journal members inhorizontally disposed relation, each said outrigger extending from thesaid pivotal connection beneath the load handling machine toward theother side thereof, each said outrigger comprising an outer hollowelongated member which is pivotally connected to its respective journalmember, an inner member carried by the said outer member and andcoacting with the said track, each said guide and load transfer memberbeing located closely adjacent and firmly connected to the adjacentjournal member on the load handling machine, and means for moving therespective brackets inwardly and outwardly.

1. An outrigger comprising an outer hollow elongated member, aconnection adjacent one end of the said outer member for pivotallyconnecting the said outer member to a load handling mechanism in ahorizontally disposed position, an inner member carried by the saidouter member and movable outwardly and inwardly of the outer member, andmeans for raising and lowering the other end of the said outer member,the said means comprising a bracket movable longitudinally along thesaid outer member, a track on the said bracket at an angle with thelongitudinal axis of the said outer member, a guide and load transfermember located on the load handling machine and coacting with the saidtrack, and means for moving the said bracket inwardly and outwardly. 2.An outrigger mechanism as specified in claim 1 in which the elementsspecified therein are duplicated to form another outrigger connected tothe load handling mechanism, but oppositely disposed with respect to thefirst outrigger.
 3. An outrigger mechanism as specified in claim 2 inwhich there are at least two of the said outriggers disposed in eachdirection and parallel relation and there is a common foot plate carriedby each two of the outriggers respectively.
 4. An outrigger as specifiedin claim 1 in which there is a second track along the top of the saidouter member and the said bracket has a portion thereon movable alongthe said track.
 5. An outrigger as specified in claim 1 in which theinner end of the said inner member has a bottom part which is flexibleupwardly in order to better distribute the stress and strain between theinner member and the said outer member.
 6. In a load handling machine, ahorizontally disposed journal member, a vertically disposed loadmanipulating actuator pivotally connected to the said journal member, ahorizontally disposed outrigger comprising an outer hollow elongatedmember pivotally connected Adjacent one end thereof to the said journalmember, an inner member carried by the said outer member and movableoutwardly and inwardly of the outer member, means for raising andlowering the other end of the said outer member, the said meanscomprising a bracket movable longitudinally along the said outer member,a track on the said bracket at an angle with the longitudinal axis ofthe said outer member, a guide and load transfer member located on theload handling machine and coacting with the said track, and means formoving the said bracket inwardly and outwardly.
 7. In a load handlingmachine, a pair of horizontally disposed journal members locatedrespectively adjacent opposite sides of the machine, at least onevertically disposed load manipulating actuator pivotally connected toeach of the said journal members, at least one telescopic outriggerpivotally connected to each of the said journal members in horizontallydisposed relation, each said outrigger extending from the said pivotalconnection beneath the load handling machine toward the other sidethereof, each said outrigger comprising an outer hollow elongated memberwhich is pivotally connected to its respective journal member, an innermember carried by the said outer member and movable outwardly andinwardly of the outer member, means for raising and lowering the otherend of the said outer member, the said means comprising a bracketmovable longitudinally along the said outer member, a track on the saidbracket at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the said outer member,a guide and load transfer member located on the load handling machineand coacting with the said track, each said guide and load transfermember being located closely adjacent and firmly connected to theadjacent journal member on the load handling machine, and means formoving the respective brackets inwardly and outwardly.